1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to medical surgical devices and more particularly to minimally invasive, biological tissue retrieval devices and methods of retrieving the organic tissue from a surgical cavity by segmentation while maintaining tissue orientation.
2. Relevant Technology
The development of minimally invasive approaches to gynecologic and other surgeries has allowed physicians to remove abdominal, pelvic, and other masses with shorter hospital stays, faster recovery, fewer intra-operative complications and fewer post-operative complications. With these advances in technology and technique have come several obstacles that influence the direction of the field and patient care.
One major obstacle in the field of minimally invasive surgery relates to the topic of morcellation. By way of illustration, once a large (pelvic) mass is separated for the body it is a challenge to remove the mass through the small surgical entry incisions in a safe and reliable way. Historically, the mass may have to be removed through the vagina or through creating a larger incision to facilitate removal of the mass intact or through manual morcellation. Morcellation, as known in the art, is a term referring to cutting or dividing a mass into smaller pieces to facilitate removal through a smaller opening. Over time, the power morcellator was developed. By using a spinning or cutting tool, the mass was pulled through the power morcellator in a way that enabled the physician to reduce the size of a mass and remove elongated portions at the same time.
With the widespread adoption of both manual morcellation and power morcellation, several concerns have arisen. A first concern is safety. Although undiagnosed cancer is a rare occurrence, with the use of morcellation (manual or power) there is always a risk of potentially spreading or seeding an undiagnosed cancer. This has led to lawsuits, lifelong implications on cancer survival for individuals affected, and a countrywide hesitation to morcellate pelvic masses. A second concern is operation and recovery time. Both manual and power morcellation have significant implications on operative time.
A third concern involves cancer staging. Morcellation often distorts tissue, and in the process will disrupt the orientation of cells within the mass. Orientation of cells is important for evaluation of cancerous tissue. By keeping tissue naturally-oriented, the histology (or anatomy) of cells is maintained or preserved, such that a pathologist can look at the cell under a microscope to see if the cancerous cells have reached to the margins or border of the tissue (e.g., to help determine the stage of the cancer). Cancer stage often determines cancer treatment. Morcellation does not allow tissue to be evaluated in this way, and therefore the opportunity to appropriately stage the cancer can be lost.
Accordingly, there are a number of obstacles, disadvantages, and challenges in conventional surgical procedure and apparatus that can be addressed.